Chai (tea) is an institution in India. Wherever you
go, you’ll find shops selling chai and people drinking it at any time of the
day. This is not actually too different from people having tea in the UK, but
the way of preparing tea is totally different. Tea in Europe is made adding tea
leaves to boiling (or just-before-it-boils) water. In India tea powder is added
to boiling milk, then a huge amount of sugar is added (India is among the
highest consumers of sugar in the world) and what we drink is the filtered
product. Very yummie!
Tea is so important here that there is even a
profession made for it: the so-called chai boy. At SISP (the school where I’m
volunteering) the chai boy makes tea for breakfast and for the afternoon snack.
He then brings it to all the staff, either in big teapots or in individual
glasses. The glasses are also thought for the tea: they have a wide top, so
that it is possible to hold the glass without burning your fingers.
After living in London for 4 years, I became addicted
to having a cup of tea at 5 pm. Now I’m drinking at least two (but sometimes the
school staff brings me another glass, because chai never hurts) glasses of chai
every day.. what will I do when I go back home?! I’ll probably force all my family
to have chai twice a day!!
No comments:
Post a Comment